Vinson was also recruited by the likes of Maryland, Louisville, Cincinnati and Georgetown.

May 4, 2009

AMHERST, Mass. -
UMass men's basketball coach Derek Kellogg announced on Monday that super-talented and multi-dimensional forward Terrell Vinson (Baltimore, Md.) has committed to join the Minuteman basketball program in the fall of 2009. The 6-7, 205-pound Vinson has been one of the nation's most sought after players after being listed as a Top 50 recruit by scouting services. Vinson will graduate from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore this spring after playing three seasons at acclaimed Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland. He was also recruited by the likes of Maryland, Louisville, Cincinnati and Georgetown.

"We are absolutely thrilled Terrell has chosen to become a part of the UMass basketball family," said Kellogg, who will enter his second season running the Minutemen in 2009-10. "He will be a tremendous addition to the program as he is an unbelievable player and an even better person. He is a multi-dimensional, athletic player who has the ability to perform at a high level. He handles the ball well, shoots it well, can play everything from the point guard to the power forward and defend those positions as well. Terrell adds great versatility to our team and gives us something we were lacking last season in a long, athletic wing player. We are very excited he is becoming a Minuteman!"

Vinson joins what was already a stellar recruiting class for Kellogg as he had signed four players in the early signing period in the winter. Vinson will make his UMass debut alongside highly-touted forward Sampson Carter (Memphis, Tenn.), aggressive swingman Javorn Farrell (Upper Marlboro, Md.), talented bigman Raphiael Putney (Woodbridge, Va.) and dynamic scoring guard Freddie Riley (Ocala, Fla.) who signed with the Minutemen earlier during the NLI period.

Vinson has been a star as a senior at St. Frances, playing for former Temple standout coach Mark Karcher. He was named a Baltimore Sun All-Metro selection in 2009 after averaging 23.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Vinson helped lead the 33-5 Panthers to the Baltimore Catholic League and Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association titles.

Vinson was ESPNU's No. 46-rated player in the nation as a senior and the No. 8 small forward. He was a preseason All-American by ESPNU. He was Scout.com's No. 26 power forward in the nation and Rivals.com No. 27 forward as well as Rivals' No. 90 overall player.

In the postseason since winning his prep titles as a senior, Vinson has stood out in some all-star games in 2009. Vinson played in the Reebok All-American game in Washington D.C., and netted 18 points. He scored 15 points in the Charm City Challenge, a prestigious Baltimore all-star game, in April.

As a junior at Montrose Christian, he averaged 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game and was named All-Met by the Washington Post. He was also named All-State First Team by the Maryland Gazette and chosen to play for the AAU Under-17 program, Team Reebok. He went on to play for 10 days in Italy with some of the top high school All-Americans in the country. He was also one of 25 players named to the Under-18 US National Team tryouts to compete in Argentina this past summer.

In 2008, Vinson scored a game high 16 points and grabbed eight boards in the summer AAU Championship game and showed why many believe he is the best player in the DC Metro Area with 25 points in the semifinals.

Vinson had signed a National Letter Of Intent with Loyola Marymount University to play for former UMass guard and assistant coach Bill Bayno in November 2008. When Bayno left the school after an illness, Vinson reopened his search for a school and has now signed scholarship papers to play at UMass.

Terrell R. Vinson was born on August 2, 1990 and is the son of Cathy Harris and his step father is James Gilyard.